Our Team
Olavur Gregersen
CEO, MSc
Olavur is our CEO, co-founder and largest shareholder in the company since 2012. He has more than 20 years of experience as an entrepreneur and international consultant as well as being a non-executive Director in several innovative companies and projects.
Contact Olavur
Phone: +298 233080
Email: olavur@oceanrainforest.com
Ólavur’s LinkedIn profile & Twitter Profile
Urd Grandorf Bak
Chief Research Officer Atlantic, PhD
Urd is our Chief Research Officer in the Atlantic and leads our research and innovation projects. She is an expert in environmental biology and geography and holds an industrial PhD in macroalgal cultivation. Urd has been working with seaweeds for more than 10 years, especially seeding of kelps and the red algae Palmaria palmata and monitoring growth at sea. Also, she has analyzed the chemical composition of the cultivated seaweeds. Urd has been working with the company since 2014.
Contact Urd:
Phone: +45 30264595
Email: urd@oceanrainforest.com
Urd’s LinkedIn Profile & Twitter Profile
Erik d'Auchamp
Chief Marketing Officer, MSc.
Erik is our CMO responsible for Ocean Rainforest’s marketing and sales activities. He holds a MSc in Business Administration from Copenhagen Business School and is an alumnus from Harvard Business School. He has more than two decades of experience within CPG, and has served as CEO/General Manager for different business units leading teams across three continents.
Contact Erik:
Email: erik@oceanrainforest.com
Johan Christiansen
Director of Faroese Operations, BSc.
Johan is responsible for the Faroese Operations. Johan holds a B.Sc. degree in political science and is also a licensed skipper. Since February 2021 Johan has been responsible for maintenance and operation of the sites and vessels in the company, including execution of harvesting and deployment activities.
Contact Johan:
Email: johan@oceanrainforest.com
Steinbjørn í Dali
Financial Manager, MSc.
Steinbjørn í Dali has a MSc. Business Administration and Economics and is our Financial Manager. Steinbjørn grew up as an entrepreneur and has worked his entire life with innovation. Steinbjørn has for the last 30 years been involved in the start-up of several innovative companies both as director, as well as in other leadership positions.
Rúni D. Joensen
Chief Technology Officer, M.Eng
Rúni D. Joensen is the chief designer behind the installations used by Ocean Rainforest. Rúni has a M.Eng in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Aberdeen, and has worked as an engineer and later as senior engineer with NOV-Elmar, an oil service company in Aberdeen, since 2002. In this work he has had extensive experience with the design of prototypes for off-shore installations.
Katrin Ingolfsdóttir Gregersen
Administration Manager, MSc
Katrin is an experienced corporate executive in company administration, project management, administration and dissemination. Moreover, she is responsible for facilitating all key Human Resource functions in the company. Katrin holds MSc in Supply Chain Management and a B.A. in Economics and Business Language from Copenhagen Business School.
Contact Katrin
Phone: +298 233081
Email: katrin@oceanrainforest.com
Katrin’s LinkedIn Profile & Twitter Profile
Floor Marsman
Operational Data Manager, MSc
Floor is our Operational Data Manager and is responsible of the operational data collection and analysis. Floor has been working in the company since 2019.
Contact Floor:
Email: floor@oceanrainforest.com
Rúna Johanna Aref
Hatchery Biologist & Project Leder, BSc.
Rúna has a background in Marine Biology. Her main focus lies with the hatchery/nursery and lab-work. In addition to that, Rúna is involved all year round in seaweed operations, such as seeding, deployment, harvesting and production.
Contact Rúna:
Email: runa@oceanrainforest.com
Kristina Arge Simonsen
Director of Marketing & Sales, MSc
Kristina is our Director of Marketing & Sales. She has a background in retailing, holding an MBA with emphasis in International Business. She is responsible for market analysis and sales at Ocean Rainforest. Prior to joining Ocean Rainforest, she held roles in category management and analysis within seafood then later in Pet Food across the US. (On maternity leave)
Contact Kristina
Email: kristina@oceanrainforest.com
Javier Infante
Chief Research Officer Pacific, MBA.
Javier is our Chief Research Officer in the Pacific. Javier has more than 15 years of experience organizing, participating, managing marine and environmental projects. He has extensive experience in surveys of marine fauna and flora including impact assessment in inshore and coastal areas. Recently, Javier has taken the lead on projects related to seaweed culture for the biofuels and phycocolloids industries, as well as social oriented technology transfer projects. In addition to his work with Ocean Rainforest, Javier provides seaweed culture consultancy for private and public entities around the world.
Contact Javier:
Phone: +56 9 8768 8173
Email: javier@oceanrainforest.com
Javier’s LinkedIn Profile
Eliza Harrison
Director of California Operations, B.S.
Eliza is our Director of the California Operations. Since 2017, Eliza has supported Ocean Rainforest’s work in seaweed harvesting, processing, packaging, and sales from the perspective of an intern and then employee. She also actively developed a techno-economic assessment on the feasibility of seaweed cultivation in southern California on behalf of the MacroSystems initiative. As a Robertson Scholar at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill and Duke University, she co-founded a company focused on temperate-water seaweed cultivation that won international recognition.
Contact Eliza:
Phone: +1 505 204 8163
Email: eliza@oceanrainforest.com
Eliza’s LinkedIn Profile
Sam Reeves
Operations Manager, BSc
Sam serves as our Operations Manager in Santa Barbara — taking the lead on all activities related to Ocean Rainforest’s offshore demonstration farm. He has worked in the Scottish finfish industry where he gained experience working with large offshore aquaculture systems. Sam has also worked at the Scottish Association for Marine Science to help research and optimize farming methods. Sam has a background in Marine Biology with a BSc from the University of Hull.
Contact Sam:
Brendan Cox
Project Technician, MSc
Brendan is a Project Technician at Ocean Rainforest's US Center of Operations outside of Santa Barbara, CA. Since joining the team, he's provided support across hatchery, offshore, and production operations. With a background in oyster aquaculture as a farmer and researcher, he has a strong interest in sustainable food systems and ecosystem services provided by low-trophic aquaculture. He has a Masters in Marine Biology from Northeastern University, along with a Bachelors of Science in Marine Biology.
Contact Brendan:
